Can opener



y 16, 1939- s. BLOOMFIELD 2,158,319

CAN OPENER Filed May 21, 1938 1N VENTOR.

5 ATTORNEY.

Patented May 16, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 8 Claims.

The present invention pertains broadly to cutting devices, and moreparticularly to an implement for opening cans and the like, and includesamong its important objects the provision of a frame member or standardincluding bracket means for attachment of the same to an object, arotatable driving wheel and manual means for rotating the same, areciprocab-le cutting head and cutting member thereon, movable towardand away from the driving wheel, and lever means for moving the drivinghead and the cutting member down toward the driving wheel and lockingthe head in such position.

Viewed from another aspect, the invention contemplates the provision ofa simplified can opening implement of greatly increased cutting powerbut provided with a minimum number of working parts arranged to simplifyconstruction and reduce the cost of production, while at the same timeassuring an effective and durable implement.

Another object is the provision of a manually operable self-lockingtoggle mechanism for moving the cutting tool into operative position.

A further object resides in the provision of a can opener including amounting frame with a vertically reciprocable cutting head and anangularly disposed cutting wheel thereon with spring means normallyurging the cutting head away from the rest of the frame, and a manuallyoperable toggle means on the frame arranged to move the cutting headstructure to urge the latter and the cutting wheel thereon back towardthe frame and a serrated driving wheel on the latter, the toggle meansbeing disposed to automatically lock the head in lowered or cuttingposition as a result of an over-center arrangement.

Another object is the provision of a resilient mounting for the drivingwheel whereby the latter may adjust itself to various thicknesses of camrim automatically when the can is moved into cutting position.

Still another object is the provision of a movable cutting head andspring means arranged to permit the head to yield when the toggle leveris Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side elevation taken in the direction of line2-2 of Fig. 1; while Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken along lin 3-3of Fig. 2.

The improved can opener of the present int vention is of the type inwhich the rim portion of the can is gripped between a cutting wheel anda driving wheel so that the can is rotated and the end thereof severedfrom the main body. A preferred form of the invention is illustrated inFig. 1 and includes an upright frame casting or support l0 having alower arm El provided with attaching bracket arms l2 and It, the arms I3having a thumb screw I4 whereby the support may be attached to a tableor the like.

Near its upper end the support I0 is provided with a frame-like part l5providing an opening 16 especially adapted to accommodate certainyieldable locking mechanism hereinafter to be described.

Mounted at the upper end of the support is a cutting head I! havingattached thereto by bolts 9 a pair of spaced legs H3 slidable in sleeveportions in the casting and extending into the opening it and into ayieldable driving block I9 which is itself slidable on, the rods or legs58 and which constitutes a yieldable connecting means between thecutting head and certain operating mechanism, the block I9 hereinafterbeing referred to as the toggle block for purposes of convenience.

The block I9 is yieldingly retained on the legs l8 by means of bolts 29threaded into the lower ends of each of the legs it? through enlargedseat portions 2| in the block, each leg being embraced by a relativelystrong coil spring 22 bearing at its outer end against the head of thebolt 28 and at its inner end against the bottom of the seat portion 2|in the toggle block. It will be apparent that the block l9 may be urgeddownwardly against the tension of' the several springs 22 independentlyof any movement of the cutting head I! or its legs I 8-provided that thehead portion I! is in some manner held immovable. This is one of theimportant features of the invention and as will become more apparenthereinafter.

The coil spring 23 is disposed between the cutting head l'! and the restof the frame ill so as normally to urge the head outwardly of thesupport or frame for the purpose of spacing a cutting wheel M pivotallymounted at an angle on the cutting head by means 25, away from aserrated driving or feeding wheel 23 pivotally mounted on the mainsupport adjacent the upper edge of the latter.

The feeding wheel 26 (Figs. 2 and 3) is adapted to be rotated by ahandle 2'! connected by pin means 28 to the outer end of a shaft 29extending through a boss 30 into the support or frame I 0, the feedingwheel 26 having a shaft portion 3| surrounded by an expansion spring 32for the purpose of permitting the feed wheel 26 and shaft to shiftaxially.

As seen in Fig. 2 particularly, the cutting wheel 24 has a beveledcutting edge 33, and the pivotal axis or mounting 25 thereof is disposedat an angle to the axis of rotation of the feed wheel 26, so that thecutting edge of the beveled cutting wheel is disposed substantiallyabove the outer peripheral edge of the feeding wheel 26 when the latteris in its normal position as seen in Fig. 2, the return spring 23normally disposing the cutting head I'! upwardly so that the cuttingwheel 24 is appreciably spaced from the periphery of the feeding wheel25, thus permitting the insertion between the wheels of the rim portionof a can. It may be observed that one of the inportant purposes of theaxially shifting feature of the feeding wheel 26 is the fact that canshaving rim portions of varying thicknesses or width may readily bewedged in between the cutting wheel 24 andthe feeding wheel 26, thelatter shifting inwardly against the tension of its nor mal spring 32without, however, any tendency to recede when the cutting wheel isdriven downwardly into cutting engagement with the can. The normaldistance between the confronting edge portions of the cutting wheel 24and the feeding wheel 26 will accommodate the ordinary can rim.

In order to drive the cutting head and its cutting wheel down intooperative engagement with the can there is provided means in the form ofa lever 34 (Fig. 1) pivotally mounted as at 35 on the support below thefeed wheel 26 and adjacent the opening l6, and further having an offsetlever extension 36 to which is pivotally connected one end 31 of atoggle lever 38, the toggle lever in turn being pivotally connected asat 39 to the toggle block l9.

The disposition of the lever members 34- 3638 is such that the latterconstitute an overcenter toggle system, effective when the lever 34 ismoved downwardly (clockwise) to pivot the toggle lever 38 to the left(anticlockwise) so as to move the pivotal connection 31 into alignmentwith the connections 35 and 39 and a center line constituted by a commonradius therebetween. This motion of the main locking lever 34 tends tolower the toggle block l9, which motion is transmitted to the headContinued downward movement of the main lever 34 moves the toggleconnection 31 past the aforesaid center line and, hence, over-center, soas to lock the block [9 in lowered position. Since a very great leverageis exerted by this toggle mechanism, the yieldability of the connectionbetween the block 19 and head I! is peculiarly advantageous to theover-center looking operation of this cutter locking means.

Thus, in the operation of the device the rim portion of a can may beinserted in the space between the cutting edge of the cutting wheel 24and the feeding wheel 26 as illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 2, andthereafter the lever means 34 may be grasped and turned in a clockwisedirection (Fig. 1) so as to urge the block 19 downwardly, the lattermovement communieating through the relatively stiff spring 22 to thebolts 20 and hence urging the spaced legs [8 and the cutting head I!downwardly. The cutting edge of the wheel 24 will thus be forced intothe metal of the can, the lever means 24 being depressed a distanceadequate to move the toggle system over-center so as to lock the blockIS in depressed condition. Thereafter the handle 21 may be rotated so asto cause the serrations on the feed wheel 26 to grip the rim portion ofthe can and rotate the can between the feed wheel and the cutting wheeluntil the rim portion of the can is entirely out or severed from themain body thereof, whereupon the lever means 34 may be moved a shortdistance in an opposite or anticlockwise direction past deadcenter andthe spring means 23 will quickly restore the head I! into its normalposition, as viewed inFig. 1, thus releasing the severed can top frombetween the wheels 24 and 26.

In the event that the cutting wheel 24 cannot be urged into the metal ofthe can or other article disposed between the wheels 24 and. 26, or inthe event that some impenetrable body is improperly disposed betweenthese wheels, rupture of the mechanism will be prevented, even thoughthe lever means 34 be forced downwardly to draw the wheels together,because of the special yieldable connection l8-l9-20-22 by means ofwhich the toggle block l9 may be urged against the tension of thesprings 22 without any relative movement of the wheels 24 and 26.

The appended claims are not intended to be limited to the specificstructure herein described, but include all variations, modificationsand rearrangements Which may be made in the device specificallydescribed herein for purposes of illustration, and fairly coming withinthe spirit of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire toprotect by Letters Patent is:

1. A can opener including a support, a feeding wheel and means forrotating the same mounted on said support, said feeding wheel beingmovable axially and provided with yieldable means normally urging thesame into a predetermined axial position, a cutting head slidablymounted on said support, yieldable means normally urging said head intospaced relation with said support relative to said feeding wheel, acutting wheel mounted on said cutting head with its pivotal axisdisposed at an angle to the axis of said feeding wheel, said cuttingwheel having a cutting edge normally disposed at a distance from saidcutting wheel adequate to receive the rim portion of a can in the spacetherebetween, said feeding wheel being shiftable axially to accommodatethe can rims of varying size, and mechanism mounted on said support formov ing said cutting head and cutting wheel thereof into cuttingengagement with a can rim disposed between the cutting wheel and feedingwheel as aforesaid.

2. A can opener in accordance with claim 1 further characterized in thatsaid mechanism for moving the cutting head and cutting wheelintooperative relation relative to said feeding wheel is further providedwith over-center means cooperable therewith for locking said mechanismto hold said head and cutting wheel in operative relation to the feedingwheel as set forth.

3. A device of the class described including a support having an openportion between its ends,

a cutting head slidably mounted on said support and having leg meansextending into said open portion of the support, a toggle block slidablyembracing said leg means in the open portion of the support, overloadspring means operatively associating said toggle block with said legmeans whereby the movement of the toggle block in a particular directionwill effect movement of the cutting head in said direction, spring meansnormally urging said cutting head oppositely to said particulardirection, a feeding wheel and drive means therefor mounted on saidsupport adjacent said cutting head, the latter being provided with acutting element movable toward and away from cutting relation with saidfeeding wheel by movement of said cutting head in opposite directions,together with self-locking manually actuated lever means mounted on saidsupport and having operative engagement with said toggle block formovement of the latter in said particular direction for the purposeaforesaid.

4. A can opener in accordance with claim 3 further characterized by theprovision of an axially sliding mounting for said feeding wheel andyieldable means normally urging the feeding wheel toward said cuttingelement, the feeding wheel being shiftable axially in an oppositedirection to permit the insertion of can rims of various sizes betweensaid cutting element and the wheel when the cutting head is in normalposition.

5. A can opener including a support, a cutting head mounted on spacedlegs slidably mounted on said support, feeding means mounted on thesupport near said head and the latter having a cutting wheel disposedfor cooperation with said feeding means to engage therebetween the rimportion of a can or the like, a yieldable connecting member slidablymounted on said spaced legs, spring means engaged by said connectingmember for moving said legs to move said cutting head when saidconnecting member is moved in a particular direction, spring meansnormally urging said cutting head to space said cutting wheel at adistance from said feeding means so that a can rim may be insertedtherebetween, and an over-center lever mechanism for moving saidconnecting member back and forth to move said cutting headcorrespondingly and effect movement of said cutting wheel toward andaway from the feeding means.

6. A can opener as defined in claim 5 and wherein said feeding means isarranged for yielding movement relative to said cutting wheel wherebycan rims of greater than a determined size may be engaged between saidfeeding means and cutting wheel.

7. In a device of the class described, a support, a cutting head and legmeans slidably mounting the same for reciprocation on said supporttoward and away from a feeding wheel also mounted on said support, acutting wheel on said cutting head movable into and out of operatingposition by latter relative to said feeding wheel, means for rotatingsaid feeding wheel, a toggle block slidably mounted on said leg means,spring means operatively interposed between said toggle block and saidleg means and resisting sliding movement of the former relative to thelatter, a hand lever pivotally mounted on said support, a toggle leverhaving pivotal connection with said hand lever and said toggle block andmovable past dead-center position in a particular direction when saidhand lever is moved a predetermined distance in said direction to effectmovement of said toggle block and move said cutting head to positionsaid cutting wheel in operative relation to the feeding wheel.

8. A can opener including a support, a feeding wheel and driving meanstherefor mounted on said support, a cutting head mounted on said supportfor reciprocation and provided with a cutting wheel movable therewithinto and out of cutting relation with said feeding wheel, a toggle blockarranged for movement relative to said cutting head in the direction ofreciprocation thereof, means yieldingly interconnecting the toggle blockand cutting head, lever means on said support and arranged to move saidtoggle block and effect movement of said cutting head to position thecutting wheel thereof in cutting relation with said feeding Wheel, saidyielding interconnecting means associated with the toggle block and thecutting head permitting operation of said lever means when said cuttinghead is restrained against movement, whereby injury to the mechanism maybe prevented, said feeding wheel being arranged for axial displacementfrom an initial position relative to said cutting wheel whereby can rimsof varying sizes may be accommodated between said wheels, said feedingWheel having spring means normally urging the same into a predeterminednormal axial position relative to said cutting wheel.

SAMUEL BLOOMFIELD.

